Panasonic UB820/UB9000 4K UHD Blu-ray player

[Telemachus]

I tried the region locked Arrow Bruce Lee Blus with the remote trick and they work! I love this player

[bl4ck]

This trick works even more effectively with firmware modification and also to direct entering to top menu of most discs.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by bl4ck

This trick works even more effectively with firmware modification and also to direct entering to top menu of most discs.

Eh... from my experience every region locked disc that didn't work with the top menu trick on the vanilla firmware still doesn't work with the custom one. Those being Sony, Paramount, Lionsgate and Neon/Decal titles.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by bl4ck

From my collection

I tested Conan and..

2x Godzilla old series

And the trick works.

And they didn't work prior to the custom firmware?

It's possible it helps bypass more titles, but it's still not 100% reliable. Kind of irrelevant tho since you can just switch region.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by pbz06

Yes to your first question.

What I would do for testing, find a nice scene with high APL and high color luminance. Disable DV so you are in HDR10, and pause it at that scene. Make sure for now all your 820 settings are default and have HDR Optimizer "on". I'd use the OLED setting first though, and then toggle HDR Optimier on vs off so you can see the differences. I bet with "on", you'll have more of a restored color saturation than with "off". You can then play with your LG DTM setting and see how it affects it, and then compare with "high luminance".

Then! try DV again to compare how each setting is close or different.

Thanks for the advice! I followed your steps and I figured out the saturation issue. It was the HDR Optimizer setting on my Panny 820.

I didn't realize those settings actually messed with saturation. I thought they were all about getting more highlight detail out of the picture. I have it set to the OLED setting now. I still have LG's DTM setting "On" as well, as I believe it adds the necessary saturation. I'm now messing with the slider to figure out the best setting for that.

But overall, this fixes my issues and now the saturation is exactly where it needs to be. Again, it surprises me that those settings for the HDR optimizer messes with saturation. Thanks again!

[bjp1979]

I’m wondering if anyone is having the same issue as me.

When I power down the player (not on quick start setting) with the disc in, part way through a movie, when I come back later and press play, I get a disc error can’t read disc message displayed on screen.

This is resolved by opening and closing the tray, but I lose my place in the movie.

I’ve tried messing with settings etc but it come back.

The tv I am using is an LG G3.

I took the Panasonic back to the store I bought it from (I’m in the UK) and they tested it and said it’s fine and that in their opinion it’s a ‘handshake’ issue with the Tv.

Anyone had this problem or have any suggestions?

Thanks

[chip75]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

I took the Panasonic back to the store I bought it from (I’m in the UK) and they tested it and said it’s fine and that in their opinion it’s a ‘handshake’ issue with the Tv.

Having a message about disc errors wouldn't be a handshake issue. Did they test the player in front of you? can you try it on another TV?

I wouldn't expect to have a resume feature after powering down, as it's specific to certain discs that don't use Java. Try a disc that you know that has the feature to see if you have issues.

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by chip75

Having a message about disc errors wouldn't be a handshake issue. Did they test the player in front of you? can you try it on another TV?

I wouldn't expect to have a resume feature after powering down, as it's specific to certain discs that don't use Java. Try a disc that you know that has the feature to see if you have issues.

Thanks for your reply.

I know that every studio has their own protocol when it comes to discs resuming. Sony discs for example ask if you want to resume yes or no (same as criterion), whereas other studios allow the disc to pick up automatically when you press play from startup and Paramount discs require you to bookmark where you left off. I have around 600 4k discs now, so am well versed with the way different discs work from startup.

I’ve tried multiple discs from multiple studios and have the same issue.

The place I took the player back to showed me on their TVs, but this wasn’t from startup and they weren’t 4k TVs (I.e. I have the problem when everything is turned off and Viera link is on, I.e. me pressing play on the Panasonic UB820 remote sends the signal to also turn on the TV).

The disc read error then won’t clear regardless of me changing settings etc, but it’s only resolved regardless of disc by me when reading eject and closing the tray again to play.

I haven’t tried on another TV yet - I do have an older Sony X900F in the bedroom.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

The place I took the player back to showed me on their TVs, but this wasn’t from startup and they weren’t 4k TVs (I.e. I have the problem when everything is turned off and Viera link is on, I.e. me pressing play on the Panasonic UB820 remote sends the signal to also turn on the TV).

You say when you press Play, what happens when you turn the player on and go through Videos tab on the menu?

Does this happen with just 4K discs, or Blu-rays as well? how is your player plugged in? outlet or extension lead?

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by chip75

You say when you press Play, what happens when you turn the player on and go through Videos tab on the menu?

Does this happen with just 4K discs, or Blu-rays as well? how is your player plugged in? outlet or extension lead?

It’s plugged directly into the wall socket, I.e not through an extension block.

If I start the player and then play the disc while it’s on, I get the same problem (I.e. I start the tv and soundbar via the viera link by turning on the Panasonic UB820), I get the same disc read error when I press play.

I haven’t tried any other non 4k discs yet, but will.

Regarding the next post, I’ve already tried the reset via blue and yellow bottoms etc from stand by and unfortunately no luck, the error still occurs.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

It’s plugged directly into the wall socket, I.e not through an extension block.

If I start the player and then play the disc while it’s on, I get the same problem (I.e. I start the tv and soundbar via the viera link by turning on the Panasonic UB820), I get the same disc read error when I press play.

If it's directly plugged into your LG?

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by chip75

If it's directly plugged into your LG?

Yes it’s plugged directly in to my LG G3. All the ports are HDMI2.1 120hz compliant.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

Yes it’s plugged directly in to my LG G3. All the ports are HDMI2.1 120hz compliant.

What happens if you remove the sound bar from the chain?

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by chip75

What happens if you remove the sound bar from the chain?

I get sh1tty sound from the TV

No, seriously, I haven’t tried without the soundbar as there’s no direct connection to the sound bar from the Panasonic UB820. Might be worth experimenting to find out if it’s creating some sort of problem in the chain.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

I get sh1tty sound from the TV

No, seriously, I haven’t tried without the soundbar as there’s no direct connection to the sound bar from the Panasonic UB820. Might be worth experimenting to find out if it’s creating some sort of problem in the chain.

You can use both HDMI ports on the 820. The Video/Audio HDMI port can be plugged directly into the TV. And the other HDMI port, which is used for audio, can be plugged into the soundbar. Just make sure the Audio HDMI port is just used as audio, no video.

Edit: I see there is no direct connection from the 820 to the Soundbar.

My advice then would be this: stop using Viera Link. I've heard there have been lots of problems with it.

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

You can use both HDMI ports on the 820. The Video/Audio HDMI port can be plugged directly into the TV. And the other HDMI port, which is used for audio, can be plugged into the soundbar. Just make sure the Audio HDMI port is just used as audio, no video.

Unfortunately that’s not an option for me. The soundbar I’m using (a Samsung Q930C) only has one HDMI input, which is in use currently by my set top box.

I could try reconfiguring.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

Unfortunately that’s not an option for me. The soundbar I’m using (a Samsung Q930C) only has one HDMI input, which is in use currently by my set top box.

I could try reconfiguring.

I would reconfigure it. Use the eArc port on your LG C3 and plug an HDMI cable from there to your Soundbar. Make sure you enable eArc on the TV and the Soundbar. Then plug the 820 and your set top box into the other HDMI Ports on your C3, and you should be able to get audio from there to the soundbar.

Just make sure the C3's audio settings are set to Bitstream (now that LG supports DTS again).

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

I would reconfigure it. Use the eArc port on your LG C3 and plug an HDMI cable from there to your Soundbar. Make sure you enable eArc on the TV and the Soundbar. Then plug the 820 and your set top box into the other HDMI Ports on your C3, and you should be able to get audio from there to the soundbar.

Just make sure the C3's audio settings are set to Bitstream (now that LG supports DTS again).

Hi, thanks for your help. Both the TV (LG G3) and the sound bar Samsung Q930C are 2023 models, so are connected directly by premium HDMI lead via eArc connection.

It set up in just the way you described, except the only difference is that my set top box is connected to the single HDMI in connector on the soundbar - the reason for this is the SKY Q here in the UK sometimes has lip sync issues on 4k HDR content… hence me connecting to the soundbar rather than through the eArc system.

When I’m using the Panasonic 820 (connected directly to the TV as mentioned above) the set top box is turned off on standby.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Originally Posted by bjp1979

Hi, thanks for your help. Both the TV (LG G3) and the sound bar Samsung Q930C are 2023 models, so are connected directly by premium HDMI lead via eArc connection.

It set up in just the way you described, except the only difference is that my set top box is connected to the single HDMI in connector on the soundbar - the reason for this is the SKY Q here in the UK sometimes has lip sync issues on 4k HDR content… hence me connecting to the soundbar rather than through the eArc system.

When I’m using the Panasonic 820 (connected directly to the TV as mentioned above) the set top box is turned off on standby.

Ok, then I would disable Viera Link. I think that is only good on other Panasonic products.

[bjp1979]

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Ok, then I would disable Viera Link. I think that is only good on other Panasonic products.

It does work really well most of the time on Viera link, but I guess it’s only a minor inconvenience to switch to the hdmi port on the tv.

I’ll turn it off and see if that corrects the issue.